I have had some progress in project Hydra, but no success. I have twice managed to make a Hydra crash, but it didn't end up outside the impound gate. It landed on the street south of the police station, and both times I tried to push it, it vanished in front of me. The last time it vanished as it touched the sidewalk.

But I had success on another area: For the first time ever I managed to use an Impound garage. When the Hydra failed, I went in there with the Seasparrow just to make sure that I would be able to use the garage if I ever get a Hydra down there. I have never managed to use the garage in LSPD HQ, but this garage works for me. I parked the chopper there, ran back and saw the invisible door shut, went back and the chopper spawned there. It spawned fusioned with a car, but I could separate them.

What is the best altitude for making the Hydra crash in the right place? I fly low, just high enough to pass over the bridge.

fnxrak

The Baron is the RC plane you fly on Zero's missions.I usually fly low, the real trick is to keep some distance from the buildings then aproach them as the hydra passes, so that first it ignores the buildings and then when it can't change course it crashes, but even so it really has to be on the right spots. I got it to crash on the impound grounds in 4 diferent ways: by hitting the black building, by hitting the corner building, and twice by hitting the bridge although most time when it hits the brigde it will crash into the water.

fnxrak

Check my video on how to get berkeley's van early in the game, this van is set to show on not too much rare occasions on some places, like the ocean docks, or near the LS airport, I have also seen a couple on the Desert, once on Sherman Dam and once near the verdant meadows airport.

OG Viking

Every time the Hydra vanish when CJ pushes it, either instantly or after being pushed only a few feet. It's not touching any structures except the ground itself, and CJ.

I have a feeling that the plane is more likely to vanish if it is pushed on its tail? Two times on a row it has vanished as soon CJ touched the tail. It can be random, or is this something you also have experienced? Is it better to push it backwards or sideways?

OG Viking

Damn! I had the Hydra almost in the impound garage, I don't know exactly where the door is but I guess a part of the plane was inside. Then it vanished. I heard a sound like that of a garage door closing or opening. But it should not do that when CJ is on the doorstep? It was not the tram above I heard, that noise is different. I don't know if there could be another door opening or closing. The main gate to the impound is so quiet that I shouldn't have heard it that far away. Can the garage door behave abnormal when an airplane wreck is passing?

Everything went so smoothly until it vanished. The Hydra crashed very shortly after I arrived SF and it landed so close the main impound gate that the gate opened automatically.

Edit:When my last Hydra vanished there was only two cars in the impound garage, but sometimes there's many cars. I've found up to six cars there. Is that okay as long as I can make room for the Hydra? Or do I have to take some cars out of the garage?

Edit 2:I wonder if there is some timer on wrecks. I destroyed my Seasparrow and tried to push it to the impound garage. It is by the way incredibly heavy to push it, a police car can barely move it, but the trick is to drive under its tail so that the chopper is resting on the car's hood. It took me some minutes, but I got the chopper inside the garage. As I backed the car out of there, the chopper vanished in plain sight. Nothing touched it. And it was not the garage door that had shut, I was still near it and the other cars were still visible. Because the chopper was the second latest vehicle CJ used, he still "possessed" it and it should be a little more resistant from vanishing.

QUOTE (Frenzzy @ Saturday, Jul 13 2013, 11:58)

Watch fnxrak's video, he pushes the hydra wreck by the "wing". I think it's very effective.

Yes it is effective, but sometimes if you want to push it straight forward it's natural to push on the tail, especially if there is little room between structures. But I'll avoid doing it from now.

fnxrak

Actually that's exactly the main impound door it happen to me a couple of times before I could get 1st hydra, that was exactly what mislead me into thinking of keeping the gate open, but it's not mandatory at all, the door won't close if you keep the seasparrow in there. Although I'm still not completely sure but I'm guessing the main door has some influence on the disapearing of the wrecks but the strangest thing is that not always it makes it vanish.From my experience this vehicles that randomly show at the impound won't replace the hydra so you shouldn't have to worry about them.Pushing the tail is something to avoid at all cost ajust the nose direction if needed but avoid the tail hydra vanish really quicly that way.

OG Viking

Actually that's exactly the main impound door it happen to me a couple of times before I could get 1st hydra, that was exactly what mislead me into thinking of keeping the gate open, but it's not mandatory at all, the door won't close if you keep the seasparrow in there. Although I'm still not completely sure but I'm guessing the main door has some influence on the disapearing of the wrecks but the strangest thing is that not always it makes it vanish.

So the main gate shutting or opening can possibly make the plane vanish. It could perhaps have been that gate I heard, it's actually right above the garage. I don't know if it was closing or opening at that time.

I understand the safest is to park something under it to keep it open all the time. I didn't do that.

By the way, I love the eerie music in your "GTA San Andreas Get Hydra Early" videos. But it would have been even better if the music was added to a horror game. Who is the artist(s)?

fnxrak

So the main gate shutting or opening can possibly make the plane vanish. It could perhaps have been that gate I heard, it's actually right above the garage. I don't know if it was closing or opening at that time.I understand the safest is to park something under it to keep it open all the time. I didn't do that.By the way, I love the eerie music in your "GTA San Andreas Get Hydra Early" videos. But it would have been even better if the music was added to a horror game. Who is the artist(s)?

Yeah I'm guessing there is a relation with the gate, I usually use the seasparrow not just to keep it open but also because it's an easy way to open the gate if you land helicopter against the gate, usually this makes the gate to start opening.

part 1 the artist is "Escape Tank" and the music is "Escape from what?(Control X Remix)"part 2 the artist is "Scott Cortez" and the music is "part V"but I really don't know them it was just something I found on youtube but reminded me off some stuff I used to hear when I was in college

OG Viking

A Hydra landed on the east side street, I used a Taxi to force it through the narrow gate. It worked fine but I expected it would vanish as a result of major physical contact with objects. Because I one time saw a Hydra crash and stop against the main gate and cause it to open, I pushed the Hydra against the gate to open it. That's a mistake, it vanished. The gate don't always open when I park the helicopter against it, but it usually works. I'm tempted to run down after a car, but I'm afraid of losing the plane while I do it.

I'm not sure if it is a coincidence, but a few times when my Seasparrow have already had poor health, the Hydra have crashed into me. Does it try to crash me down from the sky or is it accidental? It have happened also while my engine sounded healthy, but more of the times it did not sound healthy before it happened. One time I had to jump out because my FP/EP chopper was literally beaten down from the sky.

Buchsti

Managed to crash a hydra right in front of the impound garage but wreck disappered as it slided down the ramp inside. I also tried practicing with the hydra cheat several times but have only managed to get it past the first turn, even if I only push it by it's wings to avoid as much scraping as possible. This is on the ps2 v1 - the hydra seem to despawn much more frequently in this version than on PC. I am pretty sure this can't be done on ps2 v1 actually.

fnxrak

I don't know how many times you did it but it also vanished quickly for me a couple of times. Another method is trying to push it with the sawnoff shotgun, but I never tried it that way. Anyway you might be right about PS2 v1 but you never know.

OG Viking

This is on the ps2 v1 - the hydra seem to despawn much more frequently in this version than on PC. I am pretty sure this can't be done on ps2 v1 actually.

It is possible! I have PS2 v1 and I have restored the Hydra wreck three times since my previous post in this thread, but only the last time did I successfully save the game after I had stored the Hydra.(The first time I screwed up after I had stored the Hydra, I entered a restaurant to eat and the game froze when CJ exited the restaurant. It seems that the game often freeze during "Los Sepulcros" when CJ exit restaurants. The second time I also screwed up after I had saved the Hydra, I was unable to fail Los Sepulcros lol. But the third time, I successfully failed the mission and saved the game, the Hydra is stored in the SF impound.)

When I move the Hydra wreck, I use CJ to push it. The sawn-off shotgun won't move the plane a millimeter, I have also tried with the minigun but it won't budge the wreck either. RPGs and explosives can move it, but it's too unpredictable, and it also tends to make the plane vanish quicker.

Do not let the tail of the plane touch anything. I believe the small wings on the tail are somewhat safe, but not the pointy end of the body. Push where the big wings are connected to the body.

I had better success when I gave the plane fewer and harder pushes (sprinting so that the plane will slide several meters after CJ stops). I suspect that every time CJ pushes it, there is a chance of the plane vanishing. I'm not sure, but it seems that constantly giving it gentle pushes increase the likelihood of the plane to vanish. Or maybe it's because harder pushes speeds up the process, time is a factor too.

I never lost the airplane when it slided down the ramp, but I lost it countless of times on the ground outside, or on the floor inside. One of the worst spots is on the doorstep of the impound garage, it vanished there dozens of times. I also lost it many times after I had got it inside the garage and seconds before the invisible door closed.

I'm not sure if this is important as long as there is space for the Hydra, but I move most of the random vehicles out of the garage, or blow them up so they can despawn.

Buchsti

This is on the ps2 v1 - the hydra seem to despawn much more frequently in this version than on PC. I am pretty sure this can't be done on ps2 v1 actually.

It is possible! I have PS2 v1 and I have restored the Hydra wreck three times since my previous post in this thread, but only the last time did I successfully save the game after I had stored the Hydra.(The first time I screwed up after I had stored the Hydra, I entered a restaurant to eat and the game froze when CJ exited the restaurant. It seems that the game often freeze during "Los Sepulcros" when CJ exit restaurants. The second time I also screwed up after I had saved the Hydra, I was unable to fail Los Sepulcros lol. But the third time, I successfully failed the mission and saved the game, the Hydra is stored in the SF impound.)

When I move the Hydra wreck, I use CJ to push it. The sawn-off shotgun won't move the plane a millimeter, I have also tried with the minigun but it won't budge the wreck either. RPGs and explosives can move it, but it's too unpredictable, and it also tends to make the plane vanish quicker.

Do not let the tail of the plane touch anything. I believe the small wings on the tail are somewhat safe, but not the pointy end of the body. Push where the big wings are connected to the body.

I had better success when I gave the plane fewer and harder pushes (sprinting so that the plane will slide several meters after CJ stops). I suspect that every time CJ pushes it, there is a chance of the plane vanishing. I'm not sure, but it seems that constantly giving it gentle pushes increase the likelihood of the plane to vanish. Or maybe it's because harder pushes speeds up the process, time is a factor too.

I never lost the airplane when it slided down the ramp, but I lost it countless of times on the ground outside, or on the floor inside. One of the worst spots is on the doorstep of the impound garage, it vanished there dozens of times. I also lost it many times after I had got it inside the garage and seconds before the invisible door closed.

I'm not sure if this is important as long as there is space for the Hydra, but I move most of the random vehicles out of the garage, or blow them up so they can despawn.

Thanks for the tips, I appreciate that.

I think you're right about the fewer and harder pushes. I have always had CJ push the wreck constantly which has resulted in it disappearing right in front of me most of the time. I will try out your tips. Ty!

fnxrak

Make the run to close the invisible door more paralel to the impound gate this way it vanished me less times, I think it has something to do with the camera looking at both the gates (The entrance of the impound and the invisible one).

Buchsti

Alright then, makes sense. I try to do it like in your video except as I walk away I don't have CJ sprint, as it is hard on the ps2 to keep the camera focused backwards while tapping the sprint button. Might be a factor too.

OG Viking

@Buchsti: I know how annoying it is when it vanishes in the garage, but I have no other tips than keep trying. When the wreck is inside, you just have to move fast away in order to minimize the chance for it to vanish (keeping the wreck in view all the time). It sounds you're doing it right, you just need a little bit of luck.You want the plane to be inside the door, but not pushing it more than necessary. If you're unsure where the door is, try storing some other vehicles near the door until you get a feeling where it is. I'm not sure exactly where it is myself, but I have some idea.

(Paragraph edited) If you want to sprint then you can do it and still control the camera. You run forward and instead of rotate the leftright analog stick to look behind you, you press it down (R3 button) to reverse the camera view. It means pushing the right joystick down and forward at the same time. Then you just need a finger to press the X to sprint. But super sprint (tapping X) this way is difficult and also unnecessary.I don't bother with sprinting at all, I just run slowly. The distance is short and I won't save much time by running faster.

What fnxrak said about running more parallel to the gate is interesting, but I ran like he did in his video.

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After securing my precious Hydra, the next step was to make it FP/EP through Gray Imports. What an ordeal! Well, it could have been easy but I like to do things the hard way. I have some extra rules:- To minimize the "People wasted by you" stat.- To fly as little as possible because CJ is not supposed to obtain a pilot license this early.- Not uncover more terrain on the map than absolutely necessary.- Use a minimal amount of time on the in-game clock.When I "fail" by killing someone, use more time than ideal, or do a slightest mistake, I reload and start over. It happened a lot...

The ordeal step by step, grouped in three legs:

1) Start "Los Sepulcros". I chose this mission because CJ can kill all enemies in ways that he will not get credit for the kills. Prevented my two allies from being involved with the cemetery gunfight because they can't kill the Ballas and their 9mm ammo is limited, and also because they tend to get killed in crossfire. Doing step #1 quickly and according to my rules is much harder than it sounds.2) Park the Ballas Admiral in a nearby street crossing to use it as road-block later.3) Jack a 4-door car and CJ + two allies drives on the freeway north to Montgomery Intersection, then west along the coast to The Panopticon beach.4) Take the Dinghy to the platform below Garver Bridge.5) Jack a car and order my homies to waste the impound scripted cops. The car is used to open the main impound gate and for protection. Order homies to wait in the impound because they aren't needed anymore.

6) Push Hydra to the ramp, drive up ramp, fly to the beach on the north side of The Panopticon. Was lucky, no Hydra fired missiles at me.7) Wait for a Tractor to come by. If Kane's Admiral was destroyed, many vehicles will drive on rural roads which makes it easier to meet a Tractor, but it's also a pain to tow an airplane in traffic, especially with a Tractor. But if Kane's Admiral is not destroyed, few vehicles drives on rural roads and finding a Tractor takes longer time, but once I get a Tractor I will not see any other traffic until I am back in Los Santos city. Kane's Admiral is a "mission vehicle" so it doesn't despawn. (I don't fly to the Tractor spawn in Blueberry Acres because that will uncover more map.)8) Tow Hydra to Montgomery Intersection, use freeway from there to Mulholland Intersection, continue to C.R.A.S.H location (donut place). One street crossing in Vinewood is made easier by my premade roadblock using Kane's Admiral.9) Leave Hydra, drive Tractor to the cemetery and fail the mission. Hydra can easily vanish *) , camera control is important.10) Get to C.R.A.S.H and start Gray Imports. Use Tractor and tow Hydra through city traffic to the warehouse. Hydra is too wide for some parts of the flood control system, the safest route I found was to use the double-lane road from Verona Beach to LS International, drive on grass beside the pond, make roadblock on freeway, continue to the warehouse and make Hydra FP/EP.Added: The "skip trip" feature is enabled on this mission because I have failed it before, but I can't use it because it doesn't work with airplanes. It works for a Tractor, but the towed airplane will be lost in the process.Added 2: *) [Step #9] Hydra can vanish within the little time frame it takes to fail the mission, but other times it remains in memory quite long. One time when I tried the "skip trip" with a Tractor hooked up with Hydra, I was teleported to Ocean Docks with only the Tractor. I drove back to the donut place and the Hydra was still parked there. So why it sometimes can vanish while I drive to the cemetery to fail Los Sepulcros I don't know. I always remember to briefly enter the Hydra to make sure it is still counted as CJ's 2nd vehicle, but even as the 2nd latest vehicle it can vanish.

11) Tractor despawns (impounded?) after the cut scene, had to lift off and fly to my El Corona garage and get a Towtruck.12) My Towtruck is FP/EP and I need an expendable Towtruck for this journey. Use my Towtruck to spawn a random Towtruck around LS International. Steal the new truck, use it to tow both my old truck and my plane back to the El Corona garage. Store my proofed truck and continue with new Towtruck.13) Towtruck makes the ride MUCH more steady and a lot faster. Same route back to The Panopticon beach. It means using freeway in between Mulholland Intersection and Montgomery Intersection, and now there are normal traffic everywhere. However, the normal amount of traffic on the rural freeway counterbalance the advantage of the Towtruck's speed and handling.14) Unbelievably enough the Hydra have survived all that traffic with all those bumps against other vehicles. Lift off and fly back to SF impound.15) Hard bump against the police HQ wall and crashlanding on one of the lower roofs was not part of the plan! Smoke and flames! But it didn't explode. Carefully lifted off, survived some Police Maverick bullets, and made it down to the garage in one piece with dense smoke.

Jack Reacher

So...anything else we are missing for the master save file then? A lot of stuff we previously thought was impossible has been achieved, I like to stick my neck into this part of the forum every now and then and see if there is any interest still alive.

Is there any sort of vehicle, item, stat that is still thought to be unattainable, or simply has yet to be attained? Im thinking its all done now. Personally making a master save file San Andreas is one of my favourite gaming experiences, the amount you can do and the amount of creativity involved in finding all the tricks used to get everything is mindblowing. Im wondering how good GTA V is for this?

fnxrak

Also we can try to get the AT-400 or the Hotdog but the only way to keep them is impounding them but it won't really be useful afterwards.

About the Beagle I still find it very hard to get it as the one in the airport will be a lot harder to get than the rustler and the one in Fort carson almost impossible to get it it in one piece and with cops after you it will be a nightmare, again besides that it will probably only fit in the SF impound and I'm not really sure how possible is to take it out of there afterwards so like GTA Phreak said probably of no practical use.

I'm guessing what would miss a way to get a 6 star wanted level at that point to eventually get a rhino without cheats but I really doubt that will be possible.

Jack Reacher

Well you can get the beagle for collection purposes in the LS impound I suppose, same with the AT400. Use the broadway in idlewood to automatically impound them. Maybe store a tow truck in the LV impound so you don't have to keep searching for one. As for the AT 400 I tried so many times to park it near the broadway but it kept exploding, so its an interesting challenge in itself. And the hotdog, I thought it spawned in LS as well?

OG Viking

About the Beagle [....] the one in Fort carson almost impossible to get it it in one piece and with cops after you it will be a nightmare, again besides that it will probably only fit in the SF impound and I'm not really sure how possible is to take it out of there afterwards so like GTA Phreak said probably of no practical use.

Stockpile Tear Gas, it's not very effective cop control but it works. It keeps them busy for some time.

Which impound would be easiest? The one in SF has a wide gate but the passage between the yard and the street is narrow. I'm not sure how big the plane is, I have not studied it much.

About the Beagle, here is a quote from grandtheftwiki.com. It's just a wiki but I'm guessing it is true, I see no reason to think it's a lie:

Also when the Beagle appears in Fort Carson, as a spawning mistake, the plane can be stuck between the small house next to it and a large wooden pole. However on very rare occasions the plane can be seen on the road not between the two objects, where most of the time if you try to get the plane out, between the objects it blows up.

Use the broadway in idlewood to automatically impound them.

Would a random Broadway found in traffic work for impounding purposes? If the Idlewood Broadway is special, can it lose the impounding capability? Like if you park it in a garage first?

The hotdog does spawn in the ps2 version but not on the PC, the same with the quadbike.

Hotdog vans spawn on three places in Red County on PS2, sad to hear they're missing on PC. They don't drive very well and the funniest thing about them is the hot-dog seller, but I don't think he'll be impounded with the van. It would be cool to have a fast food vendor in the impound.